The Easier Choice
by ButterflyRae
Summary: It was like everything had to be analyzed and dissected. Like every damn surge in the pit of his stomach needed to be explained and connected to what was going on. Derek Venturi avoided those type of thoughts may initially look like DxSally but is not .
1. The Easier Choice

The Easier Choice

Disclaimer: I don't own Life with Derek. Rated K+ simply because of the nature of the implied pairing.

* * *

Derek Venturi had always appreciated the easy way. Why do his science project why he could pay Edwin to do it? Or write a sociology essay when he could film a movie? Or clean the house when he could trick Casey into it? 

It had always been that way with girls as well. He would have his fun and when things started to get unfun he would move on. Easy. That is, until she came along . . .

"Derek, you can't date her! You already have a girlfriend!" "Derek, think about how Kendra must feel!" "Derek, women are not objects for your amusement!"

And even when she wasn't around to call him out, he would hear her voice in his head telling him that what he was doing was wrong. Or he'd end up picturing Lizzie's soccer coach and thinking about that sleepless night he had when he found out what the guy was doing to her . . .

Ever since Casey had moved in, girls had started to seem downright difficult.

And Beth was no exception. Derek was acutely aware that she had feeling—feelings that need to be discussed. All the time.

And what was even worse was that she wanted to talk about his "feelings" as well. It was like everything had to be analyzed and dissected. Like every damn surge in the pit of his stomach needed to be explained and connected to what was going on in his life . . .

Damn annoying. Besides, Derek had this vague sense that thinking about those kind of things would somehow end badly . . . That was the hard way.

And so he had moved on. Breaking up with Beth had not been fun it but it was easier than not breaking up with her and talking about his "feelings."

It was shortly after he ended it that he decided to put girls on the shelf for a while.

One night he came downstairs to watch the hockey game and was annoyed to find Casey watching some sappy romance. Ordinarily, he would've just changed the channel but Nora happened to be watching with her.

"Is this sob fest almost over?" he snarked, plopping down in his chair. "The hockey game is going to start any minute."

"Well, too bad," Casey said. "You're going to have to wait at least another half an hour."

He sighed and leaned back in exasperation. With Nora there, he knew he would just have to wait . . .

It was an angsty foreign film about this pathetic loser who kept pining over some chick that was into someone else. After five torturous minutes of watching the thing, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Dude should just realize he can't have that chick and move on," he said. "Find some other girl. Or better yet, stay away from them all together. It would make his life soooo much easier."

Nora shot him a surprised look.

"Derek," Casey said rolling her eyes, "you have absolutely no concept of romance. Even though things look dark now, Francois refuses to give up hope. Deep down he knows that someday they'll be together and that all the suffering he's going through know will only make it sweeter when that day finally comes."

She got a dreamy expression on her face as she turned back toward the TV, and it was Derek's turn to roll his eyes.

"Ha," he laughed cynically. "Hate to burst your bubble, Case, but life doesn't work like that. Sometimes things just don't go the way you want . . . Especially for people with stupid names Francois."

"I don't even know why I bothered trying to explain it," said Casey. "I should have known that an insensitive clod like you couldn't appreciate this. Francois is strong and idealistic and devoted . . . Just like Max."

Derek felt nauseous. And really, he told himself, what guy wouldn't be disgusted by sickly sweet crap like that? Sticking his finger in his through he made melodramatic gagging noises.

"Derek, that's enough," said Nora. "If you don't like the movie you can go do something else."

Getting up from his chair to go get some food, it struck Derek that women were nothing but trouble. Maybe Francois was too stupid to realize that he didn't need that drama but Derek wasn't. And so began his no dating policy.

But then he met Sally. Not only was she hot, but he also found her surprisingly easy . . . She had a problem and she just took care of it. No crying. No drama. She was so totally unlike Kendra, Beth, and the queen of drama herself, Casey.

He thought she would be the perfect girl for him. Until, of course, he found out that she hadn't gotten rid of her boyfriend. It sort of made things difficult. So Derek decided to give up on that.

Well, at least that's what he told Casey. He wasn't going to go around moping about it like that pathetic Frenchy McFrench . . .

But as he was changing out of his Smelly Nelly's shirt, he realized that he hadn't quite given up. And somehow he knew that he wouldn't. He would continue to think about Sally and would let thoughts of her fill up his mind until he couldn't think of any other girl. He knew that things didn't always work out, but for some reason he thought they eventually might with Sally.

Yeah, for some reason he seemed to be taking the hard way this time and he wasn't really sure why. But then, dwelling on this strange development would probably be more trouble that it was worth. If he was going to take the hard way, he was going to take the hard way. No need to make it even more complicated by analyzing it to pieces . . .

He headed downstairs to make himself a sandwich and saw that while he had been changing Max had arrived. He was sitting with Casey on the couch and the two of them looked like they were about to kiss.

And again there was that damn surge in the pit of his stomach. And then the nausea. Telling himself that he was just hungry, Derek walked past them into the kitchen.

No, Derek Venturi was not the type of guy who thought about his feelings. If he had been, then it might have occurred to him that although continuing to think about Sally was not going to be all rainbows and sunshine, it was still the easier choice.


	2. Author's Note

Hi Guys,

I am thinking of continuing this but probably won't update it for a while. The idea for this story came out of the episode "When Derek Meets Sally."

On the surface, the episode looks pretty anti-Dasey. However, I thought I caught Dasey hints:

Sam mentions that dating Casey was worth it because now they are good friends. Derek then says something like, "That's it Sam; befriend the cute girl but do not date her." I know he meant "the cute girl" in a very general way—as if cute girls were a species or something—but implies that he realizes that Casey is cute.

When Jamie says "I told your step-sister that I like her," Derek, for some bizarre reason assumes that he's talking about Casey. A pretty weird assumption considering that the kid is _Lizzie's_ friend. It seemed to me like a sign that Casey was on his mind. He also makes a few other comments about Casey that made it clear that he thought about her a lot in at least some capacity.

Derek's whole "girls are too much trouble—they want to talk about feelings" deal seemed suspicious. Why is Derek so reluctant to talk about feelings? And where is he getting the idea that girls are like that?

This fic was sort of meant to highlight those things.

If I continue it, the other chapters will be similar. They would be closely based on things that actually happen on the show but will highlight the Dasey elements behind Derally, Masey, and possibly Nasey. Then, if the show ends without Dasey actually happening (which seems like a possibility), the fic would depart from the show.

_**Sound good? **_


	3. The Break

**The Break**

_Author's Note: This is a Daseyfied rewrite of a Very Derekus Christmas. It's my explanation of Derek's slightly OC behavior in that episode. I was shocked that a. he would ignore that fact that Marti needed her big brother and b. he would be so mean to Casey and not do anything to apologize. What could have driven him to that point? Read on and find out. Once again, the Dasey is somewhat subtle (like in the show). All dialogue up until the part where they are eating dinner and Marti brings up Santa is directly lifted from the show (which, sadly, I don't own). _

* * *

It was the holiday season and Derek couldn't wait for break. Ralph had invited him to join him in Florida this year and the invite couldn't have come at a better time. He really needed to get away. Away from school and parents and his crazy blended family. Away from Sally and her inexplicable resistance to his charms. Away from Casey and her apparent bipolar disorder . . .

His step-sister had recently broken up with her boyfriend. While at first he'd thought this was a good thing (for some reason, he disliked that guy and his constant presence in their house was giving Derek an ulcer), the break-up drama was really starting to irk him. It was bad enough that she fawned over the guy when they were dating, but she continued to wax on melodramatically about how perfect he was even after they had broken up. As if that loser were really "the sweetest best looking guy in school"! Derek was sick of her pity party and wished she would give it a rest.

And to make matters worse, her bouts of self-pity were intermingled with annoyingly perky efforts at holiday cheer. Towards everyone but him that is. When he told her that he was going to Florida with Ralph she practically beamed and she kept telling everyone how wonderful a Derek-free holiday would be . . . He knew that he shouldn't care but for some reason the thought got his blood boiling and made him want to put his fist through a wall . . .

Not that she was actually hurting him, he told himself, but those kinds of remarks would probably hurt a person who actually had a heart. Sure, he teased her and pulled pranks, but he never actually said anything genuinely hurtful to her. And he could have. If he had wanted to, he could devastated her ten times over. He knew exactly how to push her buttons but he also knew precisely when to stop . . .

But enough about Casey. This holiday was going to be all about him. As it should be! He was going to have a very merry Christmas. No, a merry Derekus! That was it, Derekus.

"My Christmas spirit will not break," he heard her saying, "because I don't have to celebrate it with Derek!"

Tuning it out, he turned to Ralph, "This is going to be the best Derekus ever!"

* * *

Snowed in. With his family, his cheek-pinching aunt, and Casey. Could things get any worse? Clearly, Derekus was off this year. All he wanted to do was hole up in his room, eat turkey, and think of the girls he'd meet in Florida when then snow storm ended and he and Ralph finally got down there . . . He held up a pair of sea shells against his ears, closed his eyes, and pretended he was on the beach.

"Derek!" she said, walking into his room uninvited.

She was the last person that he wanted to see.

"I can't hear you," he said, "I'm on the beach

"Stop being a party pooper and come downstairs," she said.

"Hey, I decide which parties I poop and which parties I don't poop and I definitely poop this party."

"Derek it is Christmas Eve so get your selfish butt off your bed and come celebrate with your family," she chastised him.

It figured. One minute she makes it perfectly clear that she has no desire to spend her holiday with him and the next minute she's preaching to him about how they should all embrace each other as family. He didn't know which idea disgusted him more. He could feel the anger rising in his throat.

Keeping his ears covered, he did his best to tune her out.

"I celebrate Derekus," he told her, "and sadly, this year it's been cancelled."

"Only you would celebrate a holiday named after yourself," she said contemptuously. "You don't' see me celebrating Caseyus."

As if every day wasn't her own personal Casey party, as if she ever thought about how she was making anyone else feel, as if _everything_ that happened wasn't all about Casey . . . His blood was boiling and he knew that if she didn't leave he would do something that he would regret.

"Casey," he warned her, his nostrils flaring, "leave now or I'll be forced to be mean."

"Well do your worst," she said, "because I am not leaving until you agree to join us."

She wanted him to play the loving brother in her perfect family portrait. With that thought, something in him broke and he couldn't restrain himself anymore.

"Fine," he said, removing the seashells from his ears, "the reason that you don't celebrate Caseyus is because you have nothing to celebrate. You're not in New York and you definitely don't have a boyfriend."

"Oh," she sighed looking like she might cry, "that really is mean."

He couldn't take it back now though. He had already crossed that line.

"I warned you," he said, and with that she left.

He put the seashells back over his ears and tried to tune out the entire encounter, the image of her face, and his own thoughts about what he had just said.

* * *

He had started to read a comic book when he heard a knock on his door.

"Go away, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Casey," he said, significantly calmer than when he had spoken to her earlier. He was actually a little bit relieved that she was back. It meant that he hadn't actually hurt her that much.

Then he saw it was only his Aunt Madge and his spirits fell a bit again. He didn't want to do Christmas Eve . . . He told her as much but she tried to push it on him.

"Maybe it just wasn't meant to be," he said. A lot of things in life just weren't.

But Aunt Madge persisted. And finally she guilted him into it. It really wasn't that surprising. He had learned the art of guilt from her.

* * *

So he called his friend Dave at the House of Chan and ordered a bunch of Chinese food. And then he went to see Casey. He refused to apologize, of course. Derek Venturi didn't do apologies; it just wasn't his style. But he did try to snap her out of her sulky funk. And it worked, too. They were able to throw together a cheerful family pageant. The sort of celebration that he was sure Casey wanted.

Of course, she just had to throw in that the two of them didn't get along and therefore they were not completely one big happy family. But he was actually quite okay with that statement. The last thing that he wanted was to be her loving brother.

He noticed her smiling as she grabbed a hat and started dancing along behind him.

"And we're not so sad anymore," he said, smiling himself as he lead the dance line.

Then the Chinese food came and she smiled in surprise.

"You found a Chinese restaurant that delivers in a snow storm?" she said, sounding happy and amazed. And she looked purely happy; she rarely looked that way when she was talking to him.

"Anything's possible on Derekus," he said.

* * *

The meal went smoothly and everything seemed to be going well.

"I can't wait for Santa to come this year!" said Marti. "I'm going to get a butt load of presents."

Derek smiled, realizing that his sister had inherited his selfish streak.

Then he saw his Dad and Nora exchange a worried look. Shit. They hadn't shopped for Christmas yet since they knew that the kids would be gone. Marti's Christmas would be ruined.

Quietly, he excused himself from the table. It was still pretty early and he knew a few stories were still open. He dialed Dave, who had four-wheel-drive, and finally managed to talk him into coming back and giving him a ride to the mall.

"Derek," Casey, said coming into his room as he was just hanging up the phone, "where did you go?"

"Um, I'm right here, Space Case," he smirked.

"Yeah, well, your Aunt wants you to come back downstairs," said Casey.

"Okay, but I have to go in a sec," he said.

"You're going out on Christmas Eve!" she said.

"Chillax Case," he said. "My friend Dave is taking me to the store to get Marti a couple presents."

"Well then," she said, "I'm coming with you. You'll probably get her something totally stupid."

"Fine," he said, rolling his eyes, "you can come."

* * *

"Derek," Casey said, as they sat in the back of Dave's SUV.

"Huh?" he said turning to her.

"I still don't forgive you."

"What did I do this time?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"I mean for the comment," she said.

He gave her a puzzled and exasperated look.

"I mean about me not having anything to celebrate."

He sighed and turned to face the window again.

"Case," he said, "I just sort of verbalized what I know you were thinking."

"Are you really not going to apologize, Derek?!" she said angrily.

"It only hurt you because you believed it," he continued, "which, by the way, is totally completely stupid. I mean, just because you broke up with that loser and you're not spending Christmas with your Dad doesn't mean you don't have things to celebrate. Lots of people care about you."

He turned toward her and saw her smiling at him again. He knew that she understood he was sorry and hadn't meant what he said.

"Derek," she said softly, "sometimes I think that you're really not such a bad guy."

He rolled his eyes but couldn't help smiling back at her.

"And you're definitely a good brother."

A wave of nausea overtook him, which Derek found odd since he usually didn't get carsick.

"I mean, look what you're doing for Marti," she continued, smiling.

And the carsickness vanished. It was turning into an okay Derekus after all.


End file.
